


my home for all seasons

by lumheis



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: ... in the apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Minor Violence, Post-Zombie Apocalypse, Snowman, Zombies, building a snowman, yeah lumark building snowman during the end of the world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28197516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumheis/pseuds/lumheis
Summary: “Is it even worth it?” Mark asks, “To find love while the entire world is crumbling apart?”“I think,” Yukhei looks up from where he’s tending to the wound on his leg. “That it’s a blessing, to find someone to go through the end of the world with.”-During the end of the world, Mark and Yukhei build a snowman.
Relationships: Mark Lee/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Comments: 3
Kudos: 59





	my home for all seasons

**Author's Note:**

> written for day 13: snowman of #23daysofwonder

The first snowfall of the year comes unannounced- which is fitting, considering the way the year has been going so far. 

_ “An unknown virus has been unleashed,” the radio drones, over the eerie sound of emergency alarms. “It’s caused numerous individuals to mutate and become hostile, please find shelter.” _

_ The message repeats over and over, and Mark gets up, just as a zombie crashes through his lecture hall.  _

Mark’s been on the road ever since that fateful day, and even as the seasons have changed, one thing has remained a constant: Wong Yukhei.

Yukhei, in all of his glory, currently stands next to him starry-eyed, revelling in the sight before him. 

“It’s sticking!” Yukhei exclaims, with childlike wonder. Packing the snow together, he rolls it around his hands, forming a crude snowball. “Come outside with me?”

“What about the walkers?” Mark asks skeptically.

Yukhei grins. “It’s cold.”

“Very assuring.” He says, following Yukhei out anyways. Their safehouse this month is a lighthouse, one perched between a small clearing of the woods and the shore. It’s perfectly secluded, and probably the best place to go explore the snow.

He pats his jacket, making sure that his knife is still stashed away. Just in case. 

And now he’s here, standing in an expanse of land between their safehouse and the forest, admiring how snow covers the entire clearing, like a Christmas movie- albeit a post-apocalyptic one. 

The snowfall has ceased, and it paints the landscape with an encompassing white. The clouds have cleared up, and the sun shines brightly, the reflections of light on the ice causing the snow to glow brightly. 

It’s beautiful.

“Mark?”

He hums in acknowledgement, turning to see the other hunched over, rolling a snowball around on the ground. “ _ Do you wanna build a snowmaaaan? _ ” Yukhei trills, in a voice Mark assumes is supposed to be an imitation of a  _ Frozen _ character.

“A snowman?” He blinks.

“Yeah,” Yukhei continues rolling the ball around, picking up snow until it comes up to his knees. “Can you help make the other part of the body?”

His enthusiasm is contagious, so Mark goes along with it, grabbing a handful of snow to roll. The snow stings at his bare hands, but he bears through it, making a mental note to look for gloves on future supply runs. 

Once it’s large enough, he places it on top of Yukhei’s snowball base, patting it down as Yukhei places the final snowball on top.

It’s a classic snowman, it reminds Mark of the ones he’d made during winter break as a child. Approaching the edge of the forest, he grabs some discarded sticks, stabbing them in the places where the snowman would have arms.

“It’s missing something,” Yukhei muses.

Mark hums, scrutinizing their creation. It’s nothing exciting, and from a distance it probably looks like a mound of snow with two twigs sticking out. 

“Ah,” Yukhei lights up, carefully poking a finger into the uppermost snowball. Dragging his finger along the surface, he makes a crude arch, topping it off with two final jabs- as eyeballs. “Now he has a face!”

It has a face now, but Mark still thinks it looks awfully bare. Unwrapping the scarf from where it’s around his neck, he wraps it around the snowman. “There,” he says, “Now it’s complete.”

“Aren’t you going to get cold?”

“It’s fine,” Mark dismisses, blushing at Yukhei’s concern for him. “I’ll grab it before we go back.”

Yukhei smiles affectionately, wrapping an arm around Mark to warm him up as they stand in front of their snowman. It looks complete now, adorned with a smile and a scarf. 

It’s funny- of course, it’s the end of the world and here they are, building a  _ snowman _ . Elsa and Anna would be proud.

A snowflake falls from the sky, landing on the tip of his nose.

“We should head back,” Yukhei says, looking up at the sky; it’s gone grey again, signalling a new wave of snow. “Before the snow gets hard to maneuver through”

He nods in agreement, silently following Yukhei as he leads them back to the lighthouse. 

Snow is falling insistently now, and Mark pauses for a moment, wiping the melted snow and ice off of his face. 

Yukhei turns back to check on him, out of habit, and his eyes widen in alarm. “ _ Behind you! _ ” 

Whirling around, Mark comes face-to-face with a zombie. It’s a familiar sight; the sunken in eyes and the gaunt features, complete with the ragged clothing. 

It staggers towards him at an alarmingly fast rate, and he scrambles backwards, throwing his hands up on reflex, fists raised. He’d never seen himself having a fistfight with a zombie, but if he’s going down, he’s going down with a fight.

But there’s no time to think- to form any sort of strategy. It’s a mere foot away, arms outstretched, ready to bite into him- 

A flash of white zooms through the air, barely grazing his face as it whizzes past him, lodging itself right into the cavity of the zombie’s eye socket. The force of the projectile is so strong that the zombie falls backwards, the now-lifeless body cushioned in the snow. 

A moment passes. Mark stares into the space where the zombie once stood. The adrenaline of almost dying - _ again _ \- still coursing through his veins. 

Where did  _ that _ come from?  __

Curiosity gets the best of him, and he leans down, to see what had just killed the zombie. It glints in the sunlight, a stark contrast to the rotting flesh of the zombie’s face. Water drips down it’s misshapen face, and it’s- it’s a snowball?

“Are you okay?” Yukhei runs over, checking Mark for any signs of distress. 

“Did you just kill that zombie with a  _ snowball _ ?” Mark asks instead, putting two-and-two together. Eyeing the now lifeless corpse on the ground, he kicks it away- just in case.

“Yeah,” Yukhei breathes out, looking equally as shocked as Mark, as if he didn’t expect that to work. “I used to play baseball.”

Before Mark can respond to  _ that _ , more and more zombies come out of the threshold between the field and the forest. 

“We have to go,” Yukhei urges, grabbing Mark by the wrist.

Once they’ve reached the lighthouse, Mark chances a glance back at their snowman. 

Squinting towards where him and Yukhei were earlier, he sees the horde staggering towards their snowy creation. Two particularly fast zombies barrel straight into the snowman in their bloodthirsty haste. It tips gracefully, before hitting the ground at full-force, breaking into smaller chunks of snow.

The scarf Mark had wrapped around the snowman is still there, and his heart clenches at the sight of  _ his _ scarf getting stuck to the ankle of one of the creatures.

“Mark,” Yukhei calls him back to reality. “Come inside.”

Leading them into the lighthouse, he shuts the door. “Go up,” He says, twisting the lock to the entrance. “I’ll barricade for tonight.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Yukhei nods, “I’ll be fine.”

Twisting his bottom lip, he watches Yukhei walk over to the largest crate of fishing nets, pushing it towards the doorway. Sensing his hesitation, Yukhei turns, giving him a reassuring glance. He inclines his head towards the staircase, and Mark moves. 

The lighthouse has a spiralling staircase, one that starts from the bottom floor and goes all the way to the very top. At the top, there’s a small room- the place where they’ve called home for the past couple of weeks.

Entering the room, he allows himself a moment to  _ breathe _ . He basks in the familiar sight; the materials haphazardly strewn around, the beat up couch pushed against the wall, and the small door that leads to the balcony surrounding the lighthouse. 

_ “It’s perfect!” Yukhei claps, exploring the abandoned room. “There’s a couch, and even a balcony! We could make this into our little home!”  _

_ Mark laughs, shaking his head at the elder’s antics. “Yeah,” he snorts, “home at the topmost floor of a lighthouse.” _

The adrenaline has worn off, and Mark involuntarily shivers, the cold of the winter night settling in. Walking towards their small makeshift fireplace, he grabs a match, lighting a fire with shaking hands. 

Sighing in relief, he holds his hands over the flame, relishing in the warmth of it.

He can hear heavy footsteps making its way up the stairs, and he knows it’s Yukhei, the sound of his footsteps something he’d committed to memory.

Yukhei emerges through the door, one hand suspiciously placed behind his back. Normally this would raise his concern, but the giddy look on the elder’s face tells him otherwise. 

Spotting Mark, he bounds towards him, like an overexcited puppy. “I got something for you,” He says excitedly. Motioning for Mark to hold out his hands, he approaches, one hand still perched behind his back. 

Unceremoniously dropping something  _ cold _ into Mark’s outstretched hands, he smiles triumphantly. “What’s this?” Mark asks, staring at the melting ball of snow nestled between his hands.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Using a finger, he carves a series of lines into the snowball, until a crude smiley face appears. “It’s our snowman!”

Yukhei sounds so proud of himself, Mark can’t even help the fond expression that forms on his face. The snow is melting in his hands, and it’s a little uncomfortable- with the temperature and all, but the satisfied look on Yukhei’s face is worth it. 

Somehow, Yukhei carries a bright energy with him, even when he’s gone through hell and back. Scars run across the expanse of his arms, and the deep lines of stress and exhaustion are a constant on his face. Yet, he still manages to be a beacon of hope in the darkness. 

For a moment, they stand there, Yukhei smiling over his impromptu snowman, and Mark studying the other in a candid moment. 

A loud  _ thud! _ comes from outside, breaking through their comfortable silence. Mark drops the ball of snow, and Yukhei moves to the balcony, peeking out to see what the source was. 

The elder’s brow furrows, smoothing out when he turns back. 

“Walkers?” Mark asks, though he already knows the answer.

“They know we’re in here,” Yukhei says worriedly, shivering from the cold as he closes the balcony door. “We’ll have to leave tomorrow”

_ If we survive tonight _ is unspoken.

“Just when this place started to feel like home,” Mark sighs, dropping onto the couch. Of course, he hasn’t been  _ home _ home ever since this started, but the lighthouse was starting to become akin to it. Yukhei sits next to him, pressing closer until their thighs touch. 

“It was,” Yukhei agrees, reaching out to intertwine their hands. The fire crackles, filling in the silence. “But it’s okay.”

Mark hums, rubbing his thumb over the elder’s. “Why?”

“Because you’re my home.” 

Usually, this would be the part where Mark laughs, telling Yukhei off for being unnecessarily cheesy. Instead, he lets the words ring in the air, taking a moment to reflect. 

_ Mark cowers in fear, watching as a zombie grabs at the last of his classmates, sinking its teeth into the expanse of his neck. His hands fly up to his ears, desperate to drown out the classmate’s terrified scream. _

_ The zombie senses fresh blood, lunging towards the small corner Mark had barricaded himself in. The only exit is blocked off, and Mark has no clue how to defend himself. There’s nothing he can do, and he wrenches his eyes shut, accepting the inevitable.  _

_ Something knocks the zombie away, and he hears it hit the ground with a thud.  _

_ “Are you okay?”  _

_ He cautiously opens his eyes, meeting large, doe eyes, connected to the concerned face of a boy. He’s holding a bloodied baseball bat, swung across his shoulders like one of those professional baseball players. Mark shakily nods, still blinking tears of fear away. “Y-you saved me” _

_ “Of course,” he says, like it’s normal. “You needed help.” _

Through every season of this apocalypse; spring, summer, fall, and now winter, Yukhei has been with him through it all. Home isn’t a place, but a person.

_ “Don’t leave,” Mark pleads. “I have nothing left.” The boy shoots him a strange look, as if the last thing on his mind was leaving him alone.  _

_ “We’re in this together now,” The boy says firmly, hand reaching out to grasp his, pulling him up from the darkness. “I promise.” _

“You’re mine too.” Mark confesses quietly. 

Yukhei hums in lieu of an answer, dropping his head on top of Mark’s.  _ I know _ , the action says. 

The walls of the lighthouse creak, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why, with the moans of the zombies growing louder, amplified by the acoustics of the stone walls.

A wave of drowsiness washes over him, and he stifles a yawn. 

Yukhei takes notice of this and smiles fondly. “Go to sleep,” he says, pressing a kiss to his forehead before getting up. Stretching out, he moves to grab his bat from where it’s discarded on the floor. “I’ll keep watch for tonight.”

Maybe it’s the warm atmosphere, or the emotional toll of the day finally catching up with him, but the last thing Mark wants to be tonight is alone.

“Stay with me?” Mark asks, less of a question and more of a desperate plea. Yukhei bites his lip, sending a worried glance towards the door. “We’ve never encountered anything during the night during our time here,” He adds on.

Yukhei must sense the desperation in his tone, because he only holds up for a second, before slumping in defeat. “Okay.” He checks the door to the stairwell, making sure it’s locked tightly, heading back to where Mark is seated on the couch. 

It’s hard maneuvering two grown men onto a single couch, but they make it work. Mark shakily exhales, pushing himself back into Yukhei’s encompassing warmth. A hand snakes around his waist, and he intertwines it with his. 

_ “Is it even worth it?” Mark asks, “To find love while the entire world is crumbling apart?” _

_ “I think,” Yukhei looks up from where he’s tending to the wound on his leg. “That it’s a blessing, to find someone to go through the end of the world with.”  _

_ Mark considers this, meeting Yukhei’s heavy gaze.“I’m glad that it’s you,” he confesses.  _

_ “Me too.” _

The ball of snow sits on the ground, melting away from the heat of the fireplace. Mark allows himself a moment to tune out the reality of the present, relishing in the way Yukhei warms him up in the dead-winter. 

The both of them drift to sleep, crackling fireplace drowning out the increasingly loud growing moans of the undead beneath them. Tonight, all concerns about the apocalypse are thrown out. 

Just for tonight. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading, i hope you liked it!  
> special shoutout to snowman by sia for playing on loop while i wrote this
> 
> [my twt](https://twitter.com/lumheis)


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